b'Cot Nab Excavation, 1966Mike PrattI n 1966 the A166 running past Cot Nab farm wasJ. R. Mortimer identified three distinct Bronze Age widened, necessitating an archaeological excavationburials.on the other side of the road. Jack & Irene MegginsonThe 1966 excavation located two further burials were farming at Cot Nab at the time and Irene tooknot found by Mortimer. a photo of a crouched burial that was unearthed. InThe double ditch system (that connects the linear 2003, as a regular attendee at local history groupearthworks at Cot Nab, albeit interrupted by the meetings, Irene saw its significance and she handed itA166, to the head of Hundle Dale) encompasses the over for investigation. Wanting to find out more aboutround barrow, running east and west of it. Mortimer the excavation and the burial I went to the SMR inconcluded as did the 1966 excavation that the Hull to see if there were any references to reports onentrenchment was made after the erection of the what had been found. Unfortunately there werent anybarrow.and I put the photograph to one side. I did discover,The conclusion in 1966 concerning the excavated however, that it was T. C. M. Brewster who had beenwestern ditch was that it dates from the Late Iron in charge of the excavation. Age or Early Roman period.It wasnt until November of 2004 that I was able toThe report contains a drawing of the two burials tie up this particular loose end. Kate and I attended anfound in 1966 (reproduced here).archaeology course given by Terry Manby at WoldgateThe burial in Grave 2 was judged to be outside School, Pocklington 1 . One evening during a break Ithe limits of the barrow. Comparison shows that it mentioned the photograph and lamented over thewas this one that Irene Megginson photographed.It fact that I hadnt been able to find anything out aboutcontained the skeleton of a young female adult of 19-it. Terry said that a report had been produced and he20 years. With both burials judged to be secondary would let me have a copy 2 . (i.e. after the barrow mound was constructed) The report explains that it was a round barrow sitedating in the report is uncertain although it says that that had been excavated in March 1966, just over theBrewsters opinion was that the burials dated to the Bishop Wilton parish boundary in the parish of KirbyAnglian period. A tantalising final comment says, The Underdale, and that prior to that J. R. Mortimer hadC14 [radiocarbon dating] determinations from the excavated it in 1867. burials will finally resolve the problem (awaiting C14 Summarising the salient points from the report: report)! Did that final report ever arrive, I wonder?The ditchless round barrow was constructedInterestingly, the report explains that Anglian burials during the Bronze Age. in Bronze Age tumuli are common and that:It had an inner and an outer mound. Meaney has pointed out that in Early Anglo-Saxon times there was in general, care taken to keep the spirits of the dead away from the dwelling places of the living, either by burning the body or by siting inhumation cemeteries well away from the villagethe boundary of a territory seems to have been the proper place for them, even if that boundary were a Roman road (Meaney, 1964, 20).1Archaeology: the Prehistory of East Yorkshire - a 10 week course run by the University of Hull Centrefor Lifelong Learning2Finney, A.E., 1989. Cot Nab Round Barrow, Kirby Underdale, North Yorkshire. With drawings by M.W.Stephenson, L.J. Magson and T.G. Manby. An archive report prepared by and copyrighted to the EastRiding Archaeological Research Trust.198 BULLETIN 12'